It turns out that even Marxists want to live in swanky neighborhoods.
Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, a self-described “trained Marxist,” is being accused of hypocrisy for buying a $1.4 million compound in the tony, predominantly White community of Topanga Canyon, located in Los Angeles County, as reported by the real-estate site Dirt.
Certainly, Ms. Cullors can afford it: The Black Lives Matter Global Network amassed $90 million in donations last year, she inked a multiyear production deal in October with Warner Bros. Television Group, and she has a second book slated for release in October.
Still, the criticism over her home buy was intense, given that BLM has openly opposed capitalism and advocated for “Black communities.” Topanga is 88% White and only 1.9% Black, according to the 2019 Census update.
“It seems that being a professional race hustler is a profitable business these days,” tweeted conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza.
In a Monday statement, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said that Ms. Cullors serves as executive director “in a volunteer capacity and does not receive a salary or benefits.”
“Patrisse has received a total of $120,000 since the organization’s inception in 2013, for duties such as serving as spokesperson and engaging in political education work,” said the statement. “Patrisse did not receive any compensation after 2019.”
“To be abundantly clear, as a registered 501c3, BLMGNF cannot and did not commit any organizational resources toward the purchase of personal property by any employee or volunteer. Any insinuation or assertion to the contrary is categorically false.”
In its 2020 annual report, BLMGN reported $90 million in contributions while calling for defunding the police, blasting “white supremacy,” and declaring the need to “immediately support our Black communities.”
“She had a lot of options on where to live. She chose one of the whitest places in California,” tweeted conservative sports commentator Jason Whitlock. “She’ll have her pick of white cops and white people to complain about. That’s a choice, bro.”
The Dirt report said that the 2,400-square-foot enclave on .27 acres, which includes a guest house, was sold to a corporate entity controlled by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, 37, who is married to Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Janaya Khan.
“Was it ever really about improving black lives or just her own, on the backs of BLM? And many are asking where the $1.4M came from?” asked California Globe’s Katy Grimes. “What Cullors really proves is that most people want to live somewhere nice — even Marxists. They don’t want to live in inner city slums, or in gang-infested concrete apartment high rises, where they want everyone else to live.”
Patrice Cullors, #BlackLivesMatter co-founder and “trained Marxist,” bought a home in Topanga Canyon, Calif. for $1.4mil. Racial demo: 88.2% white; 0.4% Black.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) April 10, 2021
Don’t hate. She also owns a timeshare in Wakanda. #MarxistCapitalism#OnlyInAmerica
Ms. Cullors has not commented publicly on the Dirt report, and her personal Twitter account has been removed, but she famously described herself and BLM co-founder Alicia Garza in a 2015 interview as “trained Marxists,” saying they were “super versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”
The conservative RedState website said the house purchase exposes “the grift that is Black Lives Matter,” while Portland journalist Andy Ngo tweeted that “Cullors identifies as a communist & advocates for the abolishment of capitalism.”
Mass Black Lives Matter protests last year over the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody were in many cases followed by rioting, fires and looting in major U.S. cities.
“Khan-Cullors helped found a movement that often has been involved in so many riots, acts of looting, arson, and other kinds of criminal attacks against private property and peaceful people, that, last fall, the Insurance Information Institute estimated the total to surpass $1 billion,” said television writer P. Gardner Goldsmith on the conservative Media Research Center website.
Ms. Cullors, who serves as BLMNG executive director, is holding a “F—- White Supremacy” global online dance party Sunday with the Hammer Museum.
“My art and activism are inseparable, and I’m so excited to present my performance online for a global audience with the Hammer Museum,” she said in an email. “We need moments like this to celebrate as a community as we continue to fight for our freedom.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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